The present invention relates generally to cooking devices and more particularly to a header assembly for such cooking devices which mounts a microprocessor controlled cooking computer or other heat sensitive cooking controls for cooking foods to a predetermined level of doneness.
Conventional deep fat frying techniques have been used by restaurants, "fast-food" franchises and the like to prepare various fried food items such as french fried potatoes, fried chicken, breaded onion rings, fried fish filets, etc. Generally, these items are fried in deep fat frying devices having heated wells or kettles for holding the cooking shortening and a basket system for retaining the food items in the heated shortening during the cooking process.
In the highly competitive foodservice market, it is essential that the above-noted food items are cooked consistently to a predetermined level of doneness. To eliminate the guesswork involved such preparation, solid-state modular computerized cooking control computers such as that disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 3,979,056 issued Sept. 7, 1976 have been developed by Food Automation-Service Techniques, Inc. located and doing business in Stratford, Conn. These computers use a temperature probe system such as that disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 3,866,472 issued on Feb. 18, 1975 to analyze the variables (shortening temperature; fryer efficiency and capacity; quantity of product; quantity and condition of shortening; fryer recovery rate; product temperature and water content) associated with deep fat frying to control the cooking and determine when the produce is cooked to the desired amount of doneness. These computers reduce product waste, increase product yield and improve customer satisfaction.
One of the drawbacks of these cooking computers is their tendency to be adversely affected by the high temperature environment of the cooking device, i.e., the cooking kettles and shortening are operated at temperatures approaching four hundred and fifty degrees Fahrenheit which in turn raises the temperature of the fryer housing and the air therein. To protect the computers from these elevated temperatures, the computer modules have been mounted in dead air spaces and insulated from the cooking kettle and fryer housing as suggested by U.S. Pat. No. 3,904,852 issued on Sept. 9, 1975; however, the possibility remains that the temperature of the insulated computer module may increase above the maximum allowable ambient temperature of 160.degree. F. thereby adversely affecting its temperature sensitive components. Operating temperatures lower than the maximum allowable temperature are desirable for long life of those components and reliability in their operation.
It is an object of the present invention to provide a novel header assembly for use in a deep fat frying cooking device to protect its microprocessor controlled cooking computer from the high temperature operating environment.
It is also an object to provide such an assembly which affords easy access to the control panel of the computer and allows the cooking computer to be removed for replacement or repair, if necessary.
Still another object is to provide such a header assembly which may be installed as original equipment or retrofitted to existing equipment.
A further object is to provide such a header assembly which may be readily and economically fabricated and will enjoy a long life in operation.